A “Green Tomato”: Samsung Deny Smartwatch Flop, Claim ‘800,000 Sold’

Samsung EVP David Eun has likened the Galaxy Gear smartwatch to a “small green tomato” that is ready to ripen

The Samsung exec this week was fighting off reports Gear was a flop with just 50,000 sold, insisting the number was much higher – 800,000.

Eun said it’s a case of ‘softly, softly catchee monkey’ with the Gear smartwatch, which retails for A$369.

But its high price and limited compatibility (on Galaxy Note 3 and S4 only) are two of the major criticism of Gear, released in September, which has also been dissed by tech reviewers for lack of functionality.

Here’s what Eun said: “What you want to be sure is that you don’t pluck the green tomato too early and you want to make sure you don’t criticize a small green tomato for not being a big red ripe tomato.

“Personally, I don’t think enough people gave us the credit for innovating and getting it out there. Not easily done to integrate all this functionality into one thing. But I would also say over time this thing is going to get big and red.